Never before has one draft featured three high school pitchers with fastballs that have touched 98 mph. Kevin Jepsen, Mark McCormick and Jason Neighborgall have all accomplished that feat and become the standard bearers for a draft that is deep in hard-throwing righthanders. It's so deep, in fact, that the possibility exists that Jepsen, McCormick and Neighborgall won't even be first-round picks. Neighborgall has the highest ceiling of the three--and maybe the highest ceiling of any high school pitcher in the draft. He has outstanding stuff, but concerns about his missing last season because of a nagging back problem, inconcistent command this spring and a Josh Beckett/Gavin Floyd price tag may conspire to knock him out of the first round. Neighborgall and McCormick, whose velocity slipped to the low- to mid-90s, are represented by agent Scott Boras. While the draft status of Jepsen, McCormick and Neighborgall is somewhat unclear, Clint Everts, Zack Greinke and Chris Gruler have surged to the forefront. Greinke and Gruler have performed consistently well with fastballs in the mid-90s while Everts has emerged from the shadows of his more celebrated high school teammate Scott Kazmir to become possibly the first high school righthander drafted. The Expos, picking fifth, have indicated a strong interest in Everts, whose curveball is rated the best in the draft. Bobby Brownlie was ranked as the top college righthander at the start of the season, but he was plagued by tendinitis this spring and his performance suffered. He has been replaced as the top college righty by Bryan Bullington, whose new-found slider has elevated him to the probable No. 1 pick in the entire draft. Jeremy Guthrie may be the most advanced of all the college righthanders and should move quickly through the minor leagues.

LEFTHANDED PITCHER
This position is the strength of this year's draft. As many as five lefthanders have been mentioned prominently as possibly going in the first 10 picks, with another four or five slated to go later in the first round. Pound-for-pound, Scott Kazmir is the best pitcher in the draft. The 6-foot Houston lefthander has been compared to Astros fireballing southpaw Billy Wagner. Kazmir has the same lightning-quick arm and command of three pitches, including a mid-90s fastball. Scouts say he could move to the big leagues quicker than any high school player and faster even than most of the top college players. But no lefthander has a greater upside, Kazmir included, than 6-foot-6 Canadian lefty Adam Loewen, who is still on Pittsburgh's short list and may go to the wire as a contender to be the No. 1 overall pick. If Cole Hamels can convince the Brewers or Tigers to overlook his medical history--he missed last year after suffering a broken arm following his sophomore year--he could be a prime candidate to go No. 7 or 8. Beyond the big three of Kazmir, Loewen and Hamels, lefthanders will continue to roll off the table with a frequency rarely seen in past drafts.